Monday, November 15, 2010

Do They Count The Money In Your Pocket Too?

"TOKYO - The electronic vending machine is a permanent fixture of today’s society. Food and drinks vending machines are two of the most popular types of automatic vending machines. However, a new type of canned drink vending machine was unveiled recently in Japan.A new Japanese canned drink vending machine uses facial recognition technology to “recommend” drinks based on the customer’s age and gender. Suggested products may also change depending on the temperature and time of day.Developed by JR East Water Business Co., the machines have cameras that use facial-recognition algorithms to match customers’ faces to a database of people types.When a customer stand in front of the next-generation drink machines, it will take a second to process your image. “Recommended” labels will then appear on specific drink products on its touch-screen pad, and then says “Thank you” to some or “I love you” to others.The company has so far tested machine under the Acure brand at one Tokyo train station, however they are planing to add five more machines on Tuesday at central Tokyo Station.According to international news site, 500 of the machines should be available in Tokyo and surrounding areas by March 2012."